Food On The Go
Fruit and Nut Healthy Snack Bars
Fruit and Nut Healthy Snack Bars will be your new go-to snack for on-the-go nutrition. Packed full of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory foods, this bar will be a new family favorite. They are easy to make and they freeze easily. Have fun adding other dried fruits and nuts that you like for a variety of flavors. You can substitute apple sauce or pumpkin puree for the banana. I love having an easy snack to reach for in the mid-afternoon that will curb my sweet-tooth and give me a quick dose of high energy food. For so many of us that over extended in many ways during the holidays (excessive lack of sleep, overindulgence in activities and over eating) , this healthy snack bar is a great option. Bake up a batch and enjoy!
Ingredients
1 cup oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup coconut flour (nonfat dried milk can be used)
1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 ripe banana, peeled mashed (unsweetened applesauce can replace banana)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9 × 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, apricots, pecans, raisins, cranberries, coconut flour, flax seed meal, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. In a separate bowl combine the syrup, eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Add dry ingredients from food processor to wet mixture in the bowl and stir until combined. Transfer the mixture to the pan and press down. Bake 20-25 minutes until the mixture is golden brown and firm to the …
Read MoreSweet and Spicy Chex Mix
Happy New Year! We are back with many wonderful ideas to share. Even though it is a week past New Year’s Eve and most of us have put away all our holiday decorations…there may be a gathering or two that pop up this month and you may need a sweet and savory snack to take to share with friends and family. Here is a tasty and somewhat healthy easy to make snack to make and take.
Chex Mix has been an American favorite for years. This special sweet and savory version is an adaptation from a recipe that a dear friend makes every year. We were recipients of this snack mix for many years before I decided to ask if she would share her secret concoction. I have adapted it so that it is a bit healthier.
8 cups dry cereal (Wheat Chex, Corn Chex, Rice Chex, Crispix)
1 cup goldfish
1 cup mini twist pretzels
3 cups unsalted mixed nuts
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter
6 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1-2 teaspoons worchestershire
3-4 cloves garlic smashed (or 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
1-2 Tablespoons curry powder
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave0. add brown sugar, chili powder, worchestershire sauce, garlic and curry powder. Stir until all flavors are blended and the butter is melted. Pour melted flavored butter sauce over dry ingredients and mix carefully to coat all. Pour mixture into a large shallow baking tin or two and spread out so chex mix will cook evenly. Bake in a 250 degree oven for 1 ½ hours. Stir every ½ hour. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Lasts for a few weeks. This is one of our favorite …
Read MorePumpkin Ginger Scones
The sights, sounds and smells of Fall are in the air and the mornings are cooler. School has been in session for weeks now and hopefully the kids have settled into a routine that allows for a healthy breakfast.
But if you still find yourself running around in the morning with many days that they need a grab-n-go breakfast or a pick-me-up-snack midmorning, these Pumpkin Ginger Spice Scones are packed full of nutritious deliciousness. Make up a batch and they will be gobbled up in a day or two. You can easily double the batch and freeze some.
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour (plus additional ½ cup flour when kneading dough)
1 cup old fashioned oats
¼ cup hemp seed
¼ cup oat bran
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
2 Tablespoons ground flax meal (I leave this out because Flax seed bothers my stomach)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup crystallized ginger chopped fine
½ cup cold butter
¼ cup undenatured whey pumpkin protein powder (you can substitute vanilla)
5 Tablespoons honey
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 cup plain greek yogurt
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add chopped crystallized ginger to dry ingredients. Cut cold butter into the dry ingredients with ginger until resembles small meal. In a small bowl, mix honey, pumpkin puree and yogurt. Fold wet ingredients into dry in the large bowl. Only stir until dry ingredients are moist so scones stay light and fluffy. Roll dough out into a large rectangle 1 inch thick on a floured board and cut into scone sized squares, triangles or circles. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Yields 25 small scones or 12 large …
Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
We are rejoicing today because after a 9 month and 1 week wait….our KITCHEN IS FINALLY FINISHED!!! I spent the entire afternoon baking in preparation for a baby shower for our 10th grandchild. My heart is bursting with joy to be the blessed Gammie that I am. Children are a gift from the Lord and grandchildren are a double blessing. Watching my girls be moms to their children is one of the most amazing aspects of my life. I am so proud of the job they are doing. Motherhood is the hardest job in the world but it has the biggest payback when you see your own children passionately focusing on passing on many of the intentional things you taught them about love and servant leadership. We love to celebrate new birth and this weekend we will be celebrating Baby Boy Banihashemi due to arrive at the end of October. His mom and big sister Sophie will be here for the weekend along with cousin Garrett and his mommy.
Here is the finished kitchen……
So today I tried out my new ovens by baking a new recipe called Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups old fashioned oats (gluten free if necessary)
¾ cups flour (gluten free if necessary)
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
⅓ teaspoon cloves
12 teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup almond milk
¼ cup maple syrup
1 egg (make flax egg out of 1 TBS flax meal and 2 ½ TBS water, mix well and let sit a few min)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup grated carrots
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in a small bowl. Combine wet …
Chili Chicken Stew-Creative Meals that Multiply for Busy Families
Spring is in the air and families are beginning the frenzy of evenings filled with sports practices, games, spring music concerts and all sorts of activities. As a mom who prefers not to grab fast food for her family on the way to or from all the evening activities….we have to have a strategy. When we were in the flow of 4 girls doing multiple activities and I felt like I was driving circles around our community, I came up with a creative strategy of “meals that multiply“. This is the first installment of some of the meals I made regularly that literally lasted for a week and the family never knew that our dinners came from the same big pot of stew.
Chili Chicken Stew (Crockpot or stovetop)
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into pieces if cooking in a pot on stove)
1 large onion chopped
1 yellow, orange or red pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped or pressed
2 Tbs oil
2 (15oz) cans stewed tomatoes
2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans
1-2 cups pace picante sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
Place whole chicken breasts, fresh or frozen, in the crockpot. Put all remaining ingredients in the order listed in crock pot and cook on low 6 hours. Remove chicken from stew and shred. Place back into crock pot, mix and serve. 
To make on stovetop, cut chicken into bite sized pieces and cook chicken, onion, pepper, and garlic in oil in a large pot until chicken is white and no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 2-3 hours. This chili chicken stew can be made the day before and freezes well.
Now here is where the magic begins……This one pot of chili chicken stew can be …
Healthy Snacks for Kids – Part 2
Sophie has been eating SO much the last few weeks! She must be going through a growth spurt because it has been so much that I have been running out of ideas of what to give to her. So, I went to my best idea resource (Rachel!) who tapped in to her best team of resources (Mom Squad!) to help me out! They gave such great options that I wanted to share the list with you!
The Mom’s List of Favorite Healthy Snacks for Kids:
- Yogurt Drops – place yogurt in ziplock bag, snip off the corner and drop onto wax paper on a tray. Place in freezer to make a fun chip-like self-feeding snack!
- Peanut Butter or Butter on Healthy Bread
- Goldfish or Annie’s Cheese Bunnies
- Pirates Booty
- Pouches (with that fantastic anti leak top) or DIY pouches (disposable or reusable)
- Cheerios
- Oatmeal Squares
- Bars: Larabars, Granola Veggie Bars, Ella’s Kitchen Snack Bars, or Kind Bars (esp the fruit and green ones)
- Muffins with hidden fruits and veggies and mostly all no or low sugar (check Pinterest) or Mini Muffins with any muffin recipe
- Baked Pea Snacks (Inner Peas at TJs or Harvest Snaps from Costco) -Very low salt and high fiber and protein for a snack
- Steamed Veggies – store in snack bags for on-the-go
- Chia Crunch
- Lundberg Farms Brown Rice Cakes
- Seaweed
- Kale Chips
- Champagne Grapes from TJs – really small and sweet
- Avocado
- Fig Bars (Nature’s Bakery)
- Graham Crackers
- Favorite brands for Freeze Dried Fruits: Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Little Duck, Fruit Crisps
Sophie’s Snacks — Healthy Snacks for Kids
As we continue through National Nutrition Month, I wanted to share with you some of Sophie’s favorite snack foods that she eats throughout the day! The last few days, we were at a camp/retreat center for my hubby’s work retreat. It was a lot of fun, but the food was not great – even Sophie didn’t like most of it :p
When we are home, some of her staples for each meal are Bananas, Cheese (Colby Jack and Monterey Jack), Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Peanut Butter Toast, Veggies, Meat, Veggie Burgers, Noodles, and Hummus.
But, because we were away from home for a couple days and I couldn’t make her anything, her snack bag that I packed as a “just in case” became a lifesaver! Here are Sophie’s favorite snacks that she will either have paired with a meal or just as a snack…
Freeze-dried Fruits
- Her favorites are Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Apples, Mango
- I buy them from Trader Joe’s and Sprouts
- There is no added sugar, either!
HappyBaby Organic Creamies
- Her favorites are Apple, Spinach, Pea, and Kiwi and Strawberry, Banana, and Carrot
- Dairy-free (made with coconut milk)
- No added sugar
- Melt-in-your-mouth so they were a great “first snack” when she was starting to eat and helps her to practice picking food up and feeding herself
- A snack without rice flour (Studies have shown that rice contains arsenic so we have tried to limit how much rice we give to Sophie. Unfortunately, 90% of baby snacks contain rice flour. But, this was an exception!)
Trader Joe’s Golden Rounds
- Sophie loves these crackers
- Healthy alternative to Ritz
- Soft, break easily, and melt in your mouth
- They are messy but pretty cute to see how she eats it
- Because she only eats a few a day, they stay fresh really nicely!
Trader …
Read MoreHealthy Snacks for On-the-Go
I am one who always has a snack in my purse. I try to avoid getting myself stuck in situations where I am hungry and do not have a snack or have to buy something out of desperation that may not have been the healthiest option. I want my snacking to match my health goals and not be something that gets me off track. As a result, I have some go-to snacks that I always take with me when I’m on the go!
IsaLean Bar
Bethany and Kerry both shared about their favorite IsaLean bar last week. My favorite IsaLean bar is a different flavor – Chocolate Decadence! Mmm…This bar is a healthy version of a chocolate covered rice krispie treat (without the marshmallow flavor)! It is DELICIOUS and it’s packed with protein (18 grams!!). This bar is the snack that I look most forward to every day!
LaraBar
LaraBars are fruit and nut bars. My favorite is Peanut Butter Cookie, made with three ingredients – Dates, Peanuts, and Sea Salt. It literally tastes like a peanut butter cookies!! I especially like this as a snack option in the warm weather months because I don’t have to worry about it melting. Each bar is Kosher, Vegan, non-GMO, Soy Free, Dairy Free, and Gluten Free
Fruit Leather
Fruit leathers are a great pick-me up when you are out and about. As long as there is no added sugar, this is a great way to get in some fruit and veggie servings! My favorites are from Trader Joe’s and Costco and always include strawberry as one of the main flavors!
Almonds/Trail Mix
Almonds/Trail Mix is the perfect snack to always have on hand when on-the-go. Healthy, hardy, and “hands-y” (you can eat it with your hands 😀 ) – just make sure …
Read MoreValentine’s Day Chex Mix
Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday for crafts and recipes! I have definitely been in a baking/want to be creative in the kitchen mood (I think I am officially nesting) so this was really fun to create! This mix would be so cute bagged up for a little gift and is a fun way to give a sweet treat that is different than candy!
Valentine’s Day Chex Mix Ingredients:
2 Cups Cheerios
2 Cups Rice Chex
3 Cups Pretzel Thins (break into pieces)
One Package (Approx 9) Honey Graham Crackers (break into pieces)
1 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Valentine’s M&M’s
Red & Pink Sprinkles
Directions:
- Place the Cheerios, Chex, Pretzels, and Graham Crackers in a large bowl. You want the bowl to be large enough to mix.
- Put the 1 cup of chocolate chips into a glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave for 15 seconds and stir. Microwave another 15 seconds and stir. You want the chocolate completely melted, but you need to be careful not to burn the white chocolate.
- Pour the melted chocolate onto the chex mix and begin stirring right away. While the chocolate is still hot, pour the sprinkles and M&M’s into the bowl and continuing mixing.
- Spread the coated chex mix onto a lined baking sheet and allow to cool. Place the chex mix into cute Valentine’s bags to gift or in a Ziploc to keep fresh.
- 2 Cups Cheerios
- 2 Cups Rice Chex
- 3 Cups Pretzel Thins (break into pieces)
- One Package (Approx 9) Honey Graham Crackers (break into pieces)
- 1 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
- 1 Cup Valentine's M&M's
- Red & Pink Sprinkles
- Place
Apricot Bran Honey Muffins
Need a breakfast idea that is packed with healthy ingredients, incredibly delicious and a great way to send your kids off with a nutritious start that first day of school? I reorganized a few of my favorite ingredients into this recipe and I know you will love these muffins.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups chopped dried apricots, about 7 oz (I used sulfur free organic)
2 Tablespoons butter (can use dairy free margarine)
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup apricot nectar
2 Tablespoons honey
¾ cup oat bran
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8 oz) carton plain greek yogurt (can use soy or coconut yogurt to keep it dairy free)
1 egg
1 egg white
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a 12 count muffin tin.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan and place on high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn down to low and let simmer for 3 minutes until apricots are plump and mixture is thick. Allow to cool.
Mix flour, oat bran, salt and soda in a medium bowl.
Wisk brown sugar, yogurt, vanilla, egg and egg white together in a small bowl and add to flour mixture in medium bowl.
Stir together until just moistened.
Fold in apricot mixture and quickly spoon into greased muffin tin.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Watch carefully so tops do not brown too much.
Makes 12 muffins.
Serve warm or room temperature.
Store in straight container.
